#i do mourn the loss of some of the nuance of their characters but. they did say at the panel the anime focuses more on action sooo 🥴

[chuuyadelune]

now that i have recovered from the emotional shock of seeing *that* akutagawa scene from chapter 88 animated in HD 4K (i thought i’d have another week to emotionally prepare myself LMAO), i just wanna be a little bit of a nerd and say that i really liked the cinematography/composition this episode.

in particular, i really enjoyed the anime’s decision to draw visual parallels between this fight and previous fights (in particular, the fight against francis, which is important because it is the first time they worked together).

after all, this fight is the culmination of everything they’ve done together. from the combining of their abilities, coming to an understanding with each other, realising the potential of beast-beneath the moonlight-rashoumon… bringing back similar shots that were used in previous fights is SUPER effective at highlighting the parallels and how far they’ve come, in my humble opinion.

here are a few things i noticed:

- first of all, both of them activating their abilities one after another is an explicit nod to S2’s fight;

- the confrontation/conversation in the hallway from S2 (to an extent! they’re on the same sides, which caught my eye);

- akutagawa blowing up the engine room on the ship, and kyouka doing the same during the first fight between him and atsushi (S1);

- and a similar angle being used for black tiger claws / koukko zessou as a nod to the fight in the S3 finale.

the parallels — though maybe less explicit, *are* still there in the manga? like, the entire “structure” of the fight so to speak is very similar to the francis fight in S2 — akutagawa finding atsushi, taking place on a(n air)ship, breaking away from the fight to strategise before confronting the final boss (then, francis, and now, fukuchi) is undeniably a nod to that fight? i love that this is given its due in the anime as well.

another thing about the cinematography this episode i loved was them using the clock as being the indicator of fukuchi’s fuckass space-time sword doing its thing. that was a really nice touch, in my opinion; the cuts in between were jarring and disorienting and really helped put us into sskk’s shoes.

and as for the background design alongside the clock itself — there were a couple of things about them i enjoyed:

- the number of floors / levels of the ship in the back (5, as a nod to the five ways an angel decays, the DOA)

- the blue of the clock is meant to be reminiscent of fukuchi’s sword, i’d argue, with the way both of them pops out of the sunset/orangey-red lighting

- the clock’s design being super ornate and gold plated reminds me a *bit* of a tabernacle (where they keep unused eucharist in a church) — and thus brings up connotations of sacrifice. that white bridge-thing beneath the clock as well reminds me a lot of an altar, too (see the image above the last to see what exactly i’m referring to, because image limit)

okay, yeah, that one might be a bit of a stretch, sure. but its placement as being above them, combined with the two tables/boxes to the left and right of the ship’s bow (which looks very much like a cross, btw) gives it a distinctly religious, altar-kinda feel, i’d argue. and crosses have been used in S4 as symbolism as well!

(tbh, there could even be a bit more imagery i’m missing, because — the angels of the DOA refers specifically to the buddhist conception of an angel. i’m not too familiar with buddhist imagery, but i thought that this was worth pointing out regardless!)

the last thing i want to say is that the red and blue symbolism went CRAZY this episode. i don’t have much else to say because it was super obvious — they even reused the same “black tiger claws” shot from S3, after all — but i do wanna point out that the symbolism even went into the carpets. the fucking carpets.

like, the shift: it’s red when akutagawa’s leading the conversation but changes to blue after atsushi’s suggesting of the submersible as a strategy? i mean, i don’t know if this (or anything i’ve said, to be fair) was intentional or not, but it’s a cool detail anyway!

personally, i enjoyed this episode, the action was great, and all of this too was a really neat addition as well! and now… uh. we wait for the chaos to get worse i suppose !? (laughs nervously)

[lxmelle]

Sukuna’s Choice.

I was truly struck by his stubborn resolve. He really stuck to his guns.

He was adamant he did not and could not live another way - as if anything different than what he had achieved would make him “weak”… maybe he did not know how to, or he had just decided so.

We see that he hated the idea that he was given compassion by Yuji - seeing it as pity from him.

Yuji saw him for what he was - as someone who had opportunity after opportunity to find deeper meaning but cast it away; as someone, who was desperate enough to turn himself into objects - for no other purpose than to prolong a hedonistic existence that sought momentary self-satisfaction for himself, alone.

He saw him as a curse to be given a chance… that maybe nobody ever had before - a chance without any conditions aside from being willing to accept his offer.

And it was pity in the end for Sukuna for rejecting salvation and anything to do with humanity. Even when he was shown so much. Given chances to experience it through the eyes of both Megumi and Yuji.

At the point of death, when given the choice to live with Yuji after his defeat, he preferred to die.

This was aligned with his unchanged view that: loss was no different to death. This was in his conversation with Yorozu.

His resilience only went as far as jujutsu. If he wasn’t the strongest, there was no reason for his life or existence. He boxed himself in. As if fearing what he might discover about his worth & identity beyond the Title.

Some people on X expressed their desire to understand him, asking aloud, was he afraid of death?

I honestly don’t know. My instincts doubt it was fear, but maybe there was a subconscious fear of vulnerability that comes with connection, so I think he didn’t see the value in loving or being loved. As if he accepted that he was just alone in this dog-eat-dog world. Disregarded value in connecting with anyone in any other way aside from jujutsu.

Like those who accepted the “monster” in them, none of them thought anyone will care about their bodies after death (think: Geto who didn’t think his family could care “run away if the mission fails”, Gojo who said who cares about one’s corpse, yet said “I want to mourn Suguru’s body”, Toji who wilfully forgets his children but tells Gojo about Megumi in his dying breath: “do what you want” and kill’s himself when his body information is resurrected, and Yuta who didn’t want Gojo to alone be the monster and volunteers himself: “I’ll do it!” singularly ignoring his friends’ concern for him) — Sukuna didn’t think anyone would mourn him. He left no afterthought for Uraume. Who killed themselves after he died. He didn’t want to care. He was prepared to let Yorozu have all of him if he lost which he equated to death.

Because if you consider (and accept) yourself as important to others, you realise your worth and value too. You may want to live again. Recreate purpose. Find new meaning. New beginnings. Like Megumi did...

Sukuna did not (could not?) even want to entertain the idea of living another way. He’d rather die than open his heart to humanity or compassion.

Funnily enough he was strangely “kind” in his own way. He was so objective in his monstrosity that he saw no nuance. He praised others based on jujutsu alone and how they entertained him. He had the capacity to be “human” but complete rejected it. Rejected any outer purpose...

He did not want to have any reason to live if it wasn’t to prove his strength. He did not want to compromise his own version of personal integrity. Instead of enjoying the taste and texture of human life through emotions and relationships - he ate people and enjoyed that! The absolute monster he chose to become in wielding his strength.

We saw Gege write about so many others, not only limited to the main characters… others like Kamo, Maki, Kusakabe, Higuruma, Choso, Yuta, etc. about meaning, purpose, humanity, sacrifice, & love. How they all tie together. How we change as we let others touch our hearts. How being vulnerable truly connects us.

I’ve written before about how it wasn’t for Gojo to teach Sukuna about love, although he played a big part in what was overall conveyed to him… Love that existed between everyone who identified as human, who fought for their own and collective reasons, against Sukuna. We got to bear witness - see and experience - the myriad of thoughts, emotions and reasons behind so many of their unique stories... it sang about meaning and purpose in sacrifice as well as determination.

What an ode to humanity in the face of a desperate situation.

Because if we think about it, the opposite of antidote of Monstrosity is Humanity. Being willing to love another besides yourself = accepting/wanting belonging, embracing the responsibility of being accountable to someone out of/for their love… all these include a willingness to be vulnerable.

Something Sukuna would never accept.

Sukuna was afraid to be vulnerable. If it wasn’t fear, then he actively rejected it. I suspect it was because he saw it as being weak.

Maybe he never knew love; but through what he lived & learned back in the Heian times up until now, saw its power to transform even a monster who aspired to be like him, so he deemed it worthless. Him and Uraume talked about humanity being the thing that prevented them from reaching their potential, after all.

Why should he change if he was already so strong? What was the purpose of connecting to any other being when he was at the top of the food chain? There was no need to give himself a “weakness” through caring for another.

His survival was the singular proof of his perceived worth.

And that seems like what he clung onto. Instead, he ate the actual humans as if they were flavours, because that was the ultimate rejection of humanity - to consume people as if they were food. To toy with them as if they were passing dishes until the next meal came along.

That’s just my interpretation... My understanding is that he chose death rather than accept the vulnerability that comes with love. Not for Uraume or from Yuji. His heart was solidly, fearfully, shut.

He only recognised skill & praised others for it. His chosen singular flavour.

Many of us thought there could be redemption for Sukuna. I guess it remains to be seen if Sukuna did actually choose to evaporate & die, but assuming he did opt to die, he really didn’t want to face another alternative. Choosing to remain on his path and die as the “Strongest”. I had thought that he’d see humanity from living within Yuji & Megumi - and he did, especially within Yuji’s domain expansion. He saw it and rejected it completely. What he disliked about Yuji & said to him at the end reminds me of what Jung said: we can learn about ourselves through what irritates us.

He praised Yuji for being a fool... but maybe Sukuna was the fool himself.

He played a role all the way through too.

He was the unwavering curse in the face of love / acceptance.

Jujutsu Kaisen is truly story about curses and love. Like two halves of one thing. The many ways a person can live their lives, and how it can make sense/is justifiable to them.

Who was he if he wasn’t revered or feared as the Strongest?

So… He stayed true to himself. He likened himself to a curse in the end. Love, once again, prevails.

Ah, I look forward to having a few reads of the whole series again when it is finished...

…but I’ll honestly be so very sad when it ends.

[dyaz-stories]

Hey there! Just wanna know, what the heck happened in the JJK manga? Is it already over? Did the characters FINALLY mourn Gojo?! I gave up trying to read the manga after 236, so I just decided to randomly hear from others. But anyways, what happened??

Hey there! BOY AM I HAPPY TO DISCUSS THAT.

(I'm sorry I have so many thoughts and you've given me an excuse to ramble so this is going to be long)

There are two chapters left in the manga, it will end on September 30th. The chapter that just came out, chapter 269, was, however, really bad imo and a terrible use of time considering how little time Gege has left. I get that he had to wrap up quick, but in my personal opinion, it's inexplicable that he'd dedicate a whole chapter to what we just saw.

(More under the cut with spoilers for chapter 269)

Okay, so, the characters spend half the chapter arguing about how they could have done a better job fighting Sukuna, even though at this point, the losses are minimal. Most of the characters who were possibly dead are fine and dandy actually (Yuta, Higuruma, Todo, Kusakabe). Choso is still dead, but he gets a little line about how that's sad (and his death scene was really good and effective, so I'm not that mad about it, even if he's a character I really loved).

It kinda feels like Gege is justifying the way the fight went, which is a bit weird. In story, I think this could make sense if it was fueled by grief and loss and more of a "this person could have been saved! and this person didn't have to die!", but it feels kind of matter of fact tbh, with Maki being pretty much the only one displaying emotions. Even she seems to be arguing about efficiency, not really about saving human lives? Other characters' responses aren't much better. Yuuji in particular looks like he's super numb to everything, which again, yes, that's a trauma response, but it doesn't make for interesting storytelling and it's not going to be explored further, so... what's the point.

Also think that Yuta desecrating Gojo's corpse isn't explored enough. He did something horrifying that turned to not be that useful — going with the manga's message that the end doesn't justify the means — and he seems fine. I guess Maki yelling at him could be explained by the fact that she was strongly against this action, but it's never made explicit, which is a shame. (think it's more implied it's because he endangered himself and she has feelings for him)

The other half of the chapter is spent on a plot point that I don't think had been developed before that, about the new shadow style. This feels like the last arc Gege wanted to have and Sukuna's fight went on for too long so he had to scrap it. The point is essentially that the head of the new shadow style school is trying to become the head of Jujutsu Society as a whole now that the clans have collapsed. There was a binding vow that made it so the head of the school could steal years from people who had learned the style and add it to their lifespan. Anyway, Mei Mei steps in and makes it so the style can become more widely used.

(If you're bored reading that, yeah, so was I)

It's not useless exactly — it definitely goes towards the manga's message of ending the cycle and starting off with a clean slate, so that's a win — but it feels super rushed. It didn't have to be rushed, could have been a decent arc, it just isn't, and again, I don't think that's a great use of pages this late in the story.

Last but not least, Gojo. Gojo gets two mentions in this chapter.

The second one is in passing, when Hakari defends Yuta's usefulness.

And the first one, oooh boy the first one,

is about how this was all Gojo's fault from the get-go anyway 😃

And again, some nuance here. Kusakabe specifically says that the kids have nothing to apologize for — which I agree with. His point is that it was Gojo's responsibility to kill Yuuji. Essentially, the idea is that he was the adult, and in not doing that, he's responsible for the kids having to live with all the consequences of his actions.

Which aaaaah I'm losing it here! Yuuji was a victim of Kenjaku's machinations from the get-go, so would it have been right to kill him? Isn't this just a trolley problem — kill Yuuji and save innocent people's lives? But then, Yuuji, Sukuna and Kenjaku's actions led to the end of jujutsu society as we know it, more or less directly, which could lead to a better future, so was he actually right, in a purely consequentialist approach?

I don't think any of that is particularly interesting to discuss at this point tbh. I feel like that had already been dealt with. I'm just deeply confused as to why we're dealing with this when there were three chapters left before this one instead of focusing on closing the curtain on beloved characters, Gojo in particular.

Anyway! Bad chapter imo. Boring. Bad use of the characters and their relationships with one another. Really questionable use of time. Gojo was not mourned and in fact it's almost like he's never existed or never mattered to anyone. No Shoko here, not a hint of sadness from Yuta either, which I had hoped for.

I'm still looking forward to the last two chapters, and I hope they'll leave more room for the characters to, you know, have feelings.

[working-dreamer]

Eggman’s Motivations and Clarifications

This might be something everyone already knows in the Sonic Frontiers fandom but can we just talk about the implications of the Egg Memos where Eggman talks about Maria?

“All that love for someone already gone when I was right there!”

Not only does this seem to imply that Eggman grew up in a family that had been holding onto Maria’s loss but he felt jealous of the love that everyone had for her.

When you consider Eggman’s goals of wanting to rule over everything and to have everyone know his name- it could imply that Eggman was (probably unintentionally) emotionally neglected because everyone was so focused on Maria and her loss.

And when he starts to open up to the idea of fatherhood to Sage and even comparing her to Maria it’s almost like he’s trying to seek out that connection he never had while also fulfilling a relationship he never received growing up.

Then there’s Sonic Adventure 2 where it’s revealed that Eggman looked up to Gerald who was either in prison or already dead by this point. Considering Eggman sees Gerald as the only other person who could understand his love of machines and technology (even though Gerald is a criminal or already dead at this point) might give the theory that Eggman’s home life wasn’t great if he saw Gerald as his hero.

So we have Robotnik as a child not understanding the impact grief can have on people and taking their mourning process personally (as of they’re talking about her specifically to ignore him) but you also have parents or family members that had been holding onto their grief for so long that they’re neglecting their child. Just a bad situation for everyone involved.

It’s no wonder that when Eggman started to open up to seeing Sage as his child that he’d begin to wonder about Maria’s impact on his life. Because now he can understand their loss and put himself in their position. If Sage is anything like Maria then he can understand why his family held onto their grief for so long… and unfortunately he later experiences the same loss when Sage sacrifices herself to save him.

It’s interesting to think about. One sentence gives more to why Eggman is a villain than anything in the games. Of course he wants power and to take over the world but we never really got to see why that is the case.

This game with that one sentence shows that Eggman is a complicated guy who was born into a family still mourning the loss of another child and because of those circumstances he felt like no one appreciated him and felt like he was under the shadow of Maria’s legacy. But if he took over the world… if he made the EggmanLand theme park… everyone will know his name! Everyone will see his accomplishments! No one will ever ignore him again!

And yet… when he met Sage his perspective of how is family treated him shifts. He is at least contemplating his growing attachment to Sage with the love his family had for Maria. And right when he was starting to really accept Sage as a daughter and gain a familial connection he may have not known he wanted… she dies. And he is alone once again.

Now he is desperate to have what he didn’t know he needed. Did you see that manic grin Eggman had when he brought Sage back in the final cutscene? How relieved he sounded, almost close to crying, when he said, “That’s my girl…” He now knows what he’s been missing- a real connection with someone he can call family and now that he brought Sage back there’s nothing anyone can do to take that away again. Now when he takes over the world it will be for her sake. Father and daughter together to rule over the world for all time and to have fun in EggmanLand whenever they want!

Sonic Frontiers gave Eggman a backstory, a clarification on his motivations, and some actual consistent nuance to his character all from one sentence hidden in a fishing mini-game.

I love it so much!

[elekinetic]

unpopular opinion (?) people who try and defend jason annoy the FUCK out of me. yes he was mourning his girlfriend but also do these people honestly think he was a good boyfriend to her if she didn't go to him when she was struggling ????? do these people honestly fucking think that he was good to her, judging by how aggressive and possessive he was when he found out about the drug thing??? INSISTING that she wouldn't do that??? he was a bad boyfriend. point blank. he barely knew her at all.

not to mention that he is literally an 80s version of a trump supporter. that kid was bigoted and based all of his bullshit on HIS own religious values and no, it wasn't explicitly stated that he was racist or homophobic, but like. it's subtext (barely subtext actually imo. people need to open their eyes). he clearly was, or would've been explicitly shown to be if he had survived longer. jason was not and never will be a good person, we are not supposed to SEE him as a good person, we are supposed to see him as the shitty bigoted far right bible thumper asshole that he is. i really wish people would stop defending him.

also, i'm sorry if this was a bit unarticulate. im bad at wording things

no i get where you’re coming from. i generally agree with you, but i also think it’s more nuanced than that. he’s an archetype and representative of oppressive power structures, but he’s also an example of how oppressive power structures will harm the ppl they’re designed to uplift. his (comparatively limited) victimhood doesn’t excuse or alleviate the harm he causes as a conduit of oppression, but the way he’s written emphasizes that there are no real winners here, just a scale of losses. the tragedy of jason is that he drank the koolaid that was spoon fed to him. jason wasn’t irredeemable at the beginning of the story. fuck, he wasn’t halfway through! there was time to unlearn, time to amend. but people told him he owned the world and it led to his own undoing. you don’t need to empathize or sympathize with jason—he caused and perpetuated real, tangible harm and represents some of the most hurtful parts of the world. but i think what he represents is really interesting. 

also like he wasn’t a great boyfriend, but he was also sixteen. i understand why he didn’t believe that his sweetheart head-cheerleader doe-eyed girlfriend was buying drugs, especially given the way eddie leaned into his own reputation and the way ppl thought abt drugs in the 80s (reagan era, remember?)

he’s the kind of racist/misogynist that makes harmful assumptions, but he’s not the overt, out loud and proud kind. that’s billy hargrove. dude said “those people.” jason votes for bush. billy votes for trump.

I think there’s a lot more nuance to jason’s character than people give him or the duffers credit for, and honestly I think his character and what he represents is one of the most interesting parts of season four

[starrbreeze]

finally read riverstar’s home. here are some thought as i read through.

spoilers below the cut

- the name change feels so sudden. i feel like it would’ve been more impactful if we got to see him live near the river for longer before he did.

- this feels silly to say but river ripple seemed so much more nonchalant and wise in dotc.

- OMG it’s gray wing (if you didn’t know by now i LOVE him)

- i am kind of surprised at how closely the dialogue resembles the scenes form dotc. i know that all they have to do is go back and read the book, but knowing the erins’ inconsistencies in the past, they didn’t do too bad. can’t say the same for characterizations however.

- i can’t wait to see river ripple and gray wing’s relationship through a different point of view. i always loved their interactions, especially the support and kindness between them.

- the flutter thing feels so forced i am tried of hearing about it.

- i’m not a fan of how they dumbed down the conflict between clear sky and gray wing as territory and aggression. it was such a nuanced conflict and from river ripple’s pov it makes it look as if the whole thing wasn’t very one sided.

- i kinda love the stepping stone idea especially considering river ripple’s role and relationship with the rest of them

- river ripple comforting gray wing, knowing exactly what to say, and looking after him. i love them.

- river ripple opening his home to gray wing and really noticing how much he has been through is just so touching.

- river ripple hoping gray wing’s sickness goes away is so painful because the way it never does.

- i love river ripple’s intuition and knowing exactly what a cat needs and knowing exactly what to say.

- shattered ice saying the moor reminded him of the mountains was such a nice little touch. especially when thinking about how gray wing never really wanted to leave the mountains and he was one of the only cats to stay on the moor. maybe that’s why.

- i’m getting sick of the flutter mentions.

- i love that river ripple thought what everyone else was thinking about how weird it was that clear sky ended up with star flower when thunder like her. do i think they work well together? yes, but i’m so glad some cat finally said it.

- i can feel gray wing’s death coming. obviously it’s already happened and i already no but it hurts the same every time. i want to see how river ripple reacts and whether gray wing will end up giving him a life later on.

- seeing how the erins justify some of his dialogue that was written almost 10 years ago and characterize it is kind of insane to me. i just wish they would stop linking a lot of things back to flutter. i don’t know why they didn’t just leave him without a love interest.

- gray wing :(

- the moor looked bleaker than ever now that gray wing died :(

- the way everyone is mourning gray wing’s death his influence is insane

- TALLCLAN REFERENCE that’s too funny

- “i missed you” :(

- i feel like all the qualities they were blessing him with he already had lol

- FLUTTER IS DEAD WHAT

- i hate how the erins kind of go back on any character development clear sky ever has. they did this in moth flight’s vision too, but i think there him reverting back was reasonable considering he had lost his kit and loss made him the way he was in the first place. but just portraying him as mean for no reason over and over again just pick a struggle.

- i hate how after gray wing died the boundary obsession started back up again. maybe it’s not correlated and yes it’s not that extreme but where’s the friendliness they were just starting to develop.

- i love dappled pelt.

- the whole mediation thing makes so much more sense here than in asc.

- i was so surprised the erins were going to have riverstar leave finch but of course they didn’t follow through

- this romance is so forced

- again why are they backing up on any character development clear sky had?

- i love dotc but i hate post dotc content because these cats lived together up till a little while ago and they’ve suddenly fallen back into aggression as if they weren’t more friendly before

overall rating: 2.5/5

i liked the first half, but they really took river ripple and destroyed his character along with some of the other characters from dotc.

[salty-eggg]

I remember seeing a post on here talking about grieving their loss of innocence while consuming media since they are now older than the protagonists and I just wanna talk about that.

I totally get mourning that starry-eyed perspective when you're a kid of seeing a protag who's a kid like you and doing cool shit, and then looking back as an adult being like "where has my innocent, simple outlook gone? When did life become more complicated?".

But, personally, consuming media as an adult in which the protags are much younger than me has been an Incredibly healing experience.

As a kid, I would look up to these characters and wish to be like them. I would cheer them on when things are difficult, sympathize/empathize with them when they have problems, and sincerely believe in the hope that they carry in the face of utter hopelessness. However, as an adult, I don't identify with them as equals, but rather I view them like a proud parent. I still cheer them on and whatnot, but now it's in a supportive lens of like "look at my kid go!".

There is such a Healing feeling in taking kids seriously as an adult, even just through media. It's reminded me that being a kid was actually pretty fucking complicated! You had to juggle with so many expectations of adults constantly reminding you how "the real world" won't be as kind nor as accommodating to you as you get older ("you won't be able to do this when you're a fifth/sixth/seventh etc etc grader") while, at the same time, they dumb you down to just "a kid" and you can't be having serious issues/perspectives of the world.

When interacting w media containing characters younger than me, it's like I'm looking back at my kid self, getting on eye-lvl w them, and telling them that you're not stupid for feeling certain things or seeing things a certain way, and I will take the time to listen to you and your needs and not dismiss you just cause you're a kid. You are just as complex as adults and I'm sorry that some refuse to understand you because they think you're more simple than that, I'm here now.

It just makes me think of the media timeline most ppl go through: when you're a kid, you look towards hopeful characters who do cool stuff. It's simply just Awesome and you want to be as awesome as them. Then, you're a teen, and you search for more brooding, dark characters cause hope is overrated and shallow. More problems = more complexity, thus edgy characters are more interesting than bubbly ones. But, finally, you reach adulthood and have more nuanced ideas about media that isn't just issues = complexity.

Growing up, to me, has been about gaining a new appreciation for hope and innocence in media. Of course those dark characters will still make my brain Explode, but there is just smth Special I've found watching a character who is innocent and bright go through such treacherous journeys and come out of it still hopeful. They've been beaten and battered, on the edge of losing hope (or even lost it a few times), and irrevocably changed due to the harrows of their journey...and yet, they can still find the strength to get up and carry on. Hope isn't naive nor a weakness, it is Powerful. And seeing it in kid protags has made me nurture that Kid Hope into smth more relevant for my Adult Self, but still taking good care of the pure essence of it that is Hope For The Sake Of Hope.

You can mourn for that loss of innocence, and maybe you should. But these kids who have been wildly underestimated by ppl who, at the same time, overestimate how much they should grow up to tackle "the real world" manage to find their Own footing and endure their Own way.

Life has gotten so much more complicated, but we're still in charge of Our Hope, and we can still make hoping as simple as just Believing in it, like how we used to as kids.

And isn't that beautiful?

[itsawritblr]

J.K. Rowling Shares Which Harry Potter Secret She Told Alan Rickman First.

From a Vanity Fair article shortly after Rickman’s death.

When Alan Rickman first started playing the sneering potions master Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, J.K. Rowling had only published four installments in her book series. That means that as far as readers knew, Snape was every inch the villain and the embodiment of any child’s worst teaching nightmare. But Rowling let Rickman in on a secret early on: Snape wasn’t all he seemed. Rickman has said in the past that Rowling’s top-secret advice helped him shape the character but he never revealed what it was she told him. But now in the wake of the actor’s death, Rowling explains that secret all boiled down to one of the most important words in Harry Potter fandom: “Always.”

That gif with its sentiment of remembering a long-dead loved one, was shared all over the internet by heartbroken Harry Potter fans when Rickman’s death was announced last week. But they may not have known exactly how appropriate it was. A fan asked Rowling, “Will you tell us the piece of information that you told Alan Rickman about Severus Snape? Or will that forever be a secret?” and the author replied:

For the Potter uninitiated, “always” is how Snape explains to Dumbledore in the final book why his Patronus takes the same shape as the one belonging to his long-lost love: Harry Potter’s mother, Lily.

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?”

“For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!” From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window.

Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. “After all this time?”

“Always,” said Snape.

Rickman told HitFix in 2011 that Rowling had once shared “one tiny, little, left of field piece of information“ with him. Rickman went on to say, “[It] helped me think that he was more complicated and that the story was not going to be as straight down the line as everybody thought. If you remember when I did the first film she’d only written three or four books, so nobody knew where it was really going except her. And it was important for her that I know something, but she only gave me a tiny piece of information which helped me think it was a more ambiguous route.”

There are plenty of Rickman fans who prefer to remember him for earlier work in films such as Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, or Truly, Madly, Deeply. But as tempting as it may be to write off Harry Potter as somehow less sophisticated or only for children, it’s undeniable that Rickman, of all the performers, was doing the most nuanced and shaded work in Rowling’s fantastical saga. “What I knew was he was a human being and not an automaton,” Rickman said. “I knew there was some sense of protection for Harry or I worked that out. It was enough to know, I didn’t know he was a double agent.”

Alongside the great Hans Gruber, Snape will endure as one of the greatest screen villains of all time precisely because he’s not a villain in the end. Fans mourning the loss of Rickman can take comfort in the fact that as long as we watch movies, we will remember him. Always.

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DC Cinematic Universe: Batman (Part I)

Prologue: The Endless Night

...How the hell am I supposed to start this one? I mean, Jesus Christ, it's Batman. Comparing Batman to Superman, this is a much harder film to plot out for me. Why? Well, frankly, Batman's been a lot luckier in media than Superman has. Some of the greatest comic book movies of all time are Batman films, after all. Not to mention the fact that we all know Batman as a character by now, and Superman's never really been that lucky. So, again...how the hell am I supposed to do this?

Well, I guess I just start in the same way that I did the last one, right? Defining my version of Batman/Bruce Wayne. And that's not terribly difficult...but it also isn't exactly new territory at the same time. Still, I'll give it a shot here. So, I'll start with exactly that: Who is Batman?

Chapter One: Redefining the Defined

The simple answer to this question is as such: Batman is the real identity, while Bruce Wayne is the mask. A hot take? No, most certainly not a hot take at this point. Most interpretations of the character realize this to a certain degree, although that degree is highly variable in some cases. But the point here is that Batman is essentially the reverse of Superman, in most ways. Day vs. night, colorful vs. greyscale, lawful vs. chaotic, and hope vs. fear. But both are still good. And I think movies seem to forget that about Batman.

Look, Batman walking the edge of the abyss isn't a fresh take either, but more often than not, filmmakers tend to throw him a little bit into it. Moreso than I think they should. Batman is chaotic or neutral good alignment, yes, but he's still good aligned, no matter what. And he's also an extremely complex character, almost absurdly so in many cases. Because of that, a lot of his character is simplified, and frankly, the character is usually pretty Flanderized in media nowadays.

Ah, yes, Flanderizing. The idea of taking a complex character, full of nuance and personality and a past of their own, and simplifying them into base characteristics to the point of absurdity and exaggeration. It's what happened to Ned Flanders in The Simpsons, but it happens to a LOT of superheroes. Superman's one of the worst affected by this, mostly being simplified to his powers and goodness, with the personality and character completely lost in the shuffle. But even then...Batman is WAY worse.

Whenever people think of Batman, their minds go to a few places. A tough brooding loner, instilling fear into the hearts of criminals, still mourning the loss of his parents to a near-sociopathic degree, and taking out his grief on the faces of clowns and wrestlers alike. Also, his voice is gruff and raspy. And OK, that's a take on the character, sure, but goddamn is that an oversimplification. And that oversimplification leads to...other issues.

But before I go into too much detail there, let me define what my Batman is once and for all. Batman is justice, teetering on the edge of vengeance. He believes in a true moral right, but doesn't trust the systems in place in Gotham to enforce that right, placing it into his own hands as a result. Makes him a bit of a control freak, but it also makes him scarily efficient and proficient. He's a brilliant man and self-trained detective and expert in many field. He's a worldly man and proficient athlete, honing himself for the singular purpose of exacting justice like no other person possibly could.

However, he's also a very damaged person, in desperate need of therapy, but with the singular purpose of mind that makes him confidently believe in self-control over his own mental state, to the point of obsession and exaggeration. Yes, he walks on the edge of the abyss, but he's always aware of that edge, and doesn't actually want to fall into it. However, he embraces the darkness that lies within it as a tool for justice, rather than a part of his self-perception.

With that said, some of you may be thinking...haven't we already seen this in other versions of the character? And we have...partially. But let's get into it, and I'll try and explain my specific version of the character a little better. Because every version got something right...but nobody got everything right. And I do mean every version.

Adam West's Batman, despite the goofy-ass Silver-Age Universe he was in, definitely got the hero and do-gooder part of the character down pat. Other than the superficial stuff, like the gadgets and the Batcave and all that, West's silly iteration of the character wanted to do good for no other reason than it being the right thing to do. And yeah, that's accurate. Batman wants to do the right thing because too few people in Gotham want to or can, and somebody fucking has to. Batman being in alliance with a moral good is an important and often overlooked part of the character.

Michael Keaton's excellent turn as Batman in the Burton films definitely got the damaged billionaire thing right. Maybe a little too right, in fact. This version of Batman was a detective and crusader of the night, as well as a crusader for justice, but he was way more damaged than most versions of the character tend to be. The line between Bruce and Bat was appropriately blurred, but it also made it very obvious that they were the same person. Still, Keaton correctly played the character as teetering on the edges of madness and obsession. His "Bruce" left a little something to be desired, though.

I'd bring up Kilmer and Clooney here, but they sort of copy West in terms of their Batmen. Even then, they barely had personality to begin with, and they definitely aren't quite worth talking about.

Hoo boy, Christian Bale. This Batman is a truly interesting one, because he embraces fear far more than most of the rest do. Sure, Keaton's Batman is a little spooky, but Bale's Batman really dials up the idea of a fear-generating force of the night. His Bruce Wayne truly is a mask, distancing himself greatly from the identity of Batman, in almost a direct response to the Keaton Batman. However, this Batman also loses most of the detective angle, and instead leans into the vengeance-seeking vigilante who actively murders people. And yes, I mean that. Not saving somebody is effectively the same as murdering them, Bruce. Not that Keaton's Batman is any better, since he actively kills a few people. We'll, uh...we'll get to that problem later.

Anyway, Bale's Batman is good for a lot of things, but he's a simplified version of the character. Like, I can call that Batman a lot of things, but he's not particularly smart, for one. And for two, he's not particularly heroic, either. I mean, yeah, he saves the city three times, but it's usually based off personal stakes or a challenge to him directly. It's not really about doing the right thing in these instances. But that's NOTHING compared to...

Fuck Batfleck, if I can just say that right now. Batfleck is a really shitty version of this character, and has ESSENTIALLY NOTHING that Batman should have. He's a murderer, his actions are inherently cruel, he's a stupid and easily manipulated IDIOT who never does any difficult detective work, and he's a brute and a cad. Fuck this version of Batman. Fuck him, fuck him, fuuuuuuuuuck hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim. The depths to which I hate this stupid, STUPID moron cannot be overestimated. Take the rightfully lambasted Martha scene.

I know the Martha scene is an easy target, but it's far easier than most people realize. Yeah, the fact that he stops fighting Superman immediately because of the coincidence of their mom's names is really stupid, but it also shows just how little Bruce thought about this shit, or about Superman in general. Not only did that catch him by surprise, but the fact that Superman HAD A MOM caught him by surprise, because he hadn't considered to think of him as a person. Think about that. Like, really think about that.

Every incarnation, and I mean EVERY incarnation of Batman that's interacted with Superman has deduced his secret identity as Clark Kent, quickly and easily. For fucks sake, it wouldn't even be that hard, THEY TALK TO EACH OTHER AS CLARK AND BRUCE IN THE MOVIE. But Bruce clearly didn't realize that Superman was Clark Kent at the time, and if he did...what, he did NO fucking research on the dude? This version of Bruce was thoroughly unprepared to face of against Superman, and didn't look into him AT ALL, before immediately jumping to conclusions while wearing that fucking Frank Miller armor of his. And don't get me STARTED on Frank fucking Miller's culpability in the Flanderization of Batman, because we'll be here ALL FUCKING DAY. FUCK THIS BATMAN WITH ALL OF MY HEART AND SOUL.

...OK, I think I got it all out of my system. For now. Seriously, I could keep going on about it, but I got other shit to talk about. Like, for example, a Batman I actually like. A lot.

Is Robert Pattinson's Batman perfect? No. He has issues that plague many of the other Batmen listed here. However, good goddamn, is this version fucking close to perfect. He's intelligent, he's a detective, he uses fear as a tool to fight the underworld, he's clearly a proficient fighter and gadget-user, and maybe most importantly, he actually becomes a hero by the end. Think about this. How many versions of Batman have you seen actually directly save the citizens of Gotham? He usually saves people from afar, or indirectly. Rarely does he save individual people from a crisis like he does in this movie, multiple times. He's a mostly well-balanced version of the character. Mostly.

And that's because...we'll, he's clearly not fucking OK. Look, I like Battinson as much as the next guy, but he's the only Batman who I can confidently say listens to My Chemical Romance on the regular. The dude is the most unstable of the Batmen by far, outpacing even Keaton for the role. But while Keaton seems more like Bruce Wayne dressing up as Batman, and Bale is the opposite, Pattinson is CLEARLY fusing the two identities into the same person. Bruce Wayne is absolutely subsumed by Batman, and he makes no effort to hide that, nor does he seem to care. And honestly, that's an interesting take! He's a very psychologically damaged character normally, and this version makes that far more prominent.

The other major problem I had is the whole "Vengeance" thing. Not calling himself that, necessarily, although it's a little emo for my tastes. It's the fact that he definitely leans more towards vengeance than he does justice. But then again, I say I had that problem because that's actually sort of the point. When we see this version at first, he calls himself Vengeance and acts as such. But by the end...he's just actually helping people. He's a hero, and he acts for justice, not just vengeance. It's his story arc. And that's something that Batman usually doesn't get: actual character development.

I mean, think about it: what do the Batmen actually learn in their journeys? Keaton doesn't really change throughout his films. He's still an eccentric loner who opens up to women out of desperation, but doesn't really learn anything from his struggles. Bale has stuff happen to him most of the time, but I can't say that he changed much between movies. Maybe in the last one, where he gives up the crusade to pursue a life of peace, but is that really the right story for Batman? Affleck...learns not to be an absolute douche-nozzle, I fucking guess. Not a lesson. Just not being a dick. But Pattinson learns to be a hero, and gains a slightly new view of his mission at the end, as well as of Alfred. It's an actual character journey, even though it isn't the strongest one ever. So yeah, he's near perfect, even if he is also a whiny emo teenager who shouts "YOU'RE NOT MY REAL DAD" at Alfred a few times. Yeah, he's good, but he ain't perfect.

So, with all of that said, who is Batman? He's a little emotionally closed off, from himself and from others. He's still a human being with likes and desires, but those likes and desires come second to the journey. He's not a constant brooding loner, but he struggles with his own mental issues and his own obsessions. He's in desperate need of therapy, but prefers to solve his own problems, as he does with most things. He's controlling to sometimes pathological degrees, but never with ill-intent. And he's always prepared as much as he reasonably can be, for any contingency.

Batman doesn't take his nights off much, and overworks himself constantly to fulfill a goal which doesn't truly exist. He's a crusader for justice with and without the mask, and is fiercely devoted to his city and his people. But when he does take a night off, he watches film noir and Zorro. He reads the newspaper, to minimize his screen time and relax a little bit. He likes obscure coffees and beverages, leaning more towards the bitter than anything else. His tastes are obscure and seemingly rich, but are actually worldly and well-informed. He's a brilliant man who hides his brilliance behind silent actions and clever words. And to those who share his vision of a better world, he may be critical, but is also fiercely loyal.

I mean, in a word...he's Batman.

It's funny, but I think Batman has a similar problem to Superman, in an unexpected way. Like Superman, people tend to forget that he's human. Batman, despite his journey and trauma and mission, is absolutely a person, with the same flaws and foibles as a regular person has. And that seems to go without saying, since all versions of Batman have been flawed, right? But if that's the case, why is the character so over-idolized in the public eye, especially by bros who say he's the coolest character ever, who can take anybody in a fight? That limited view and mentality of the character is what gave us the dumbass meathead murderer in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Jesus Fucking CHRIST This Name Never Gets Less Stupid.

But who's to blame for this? Is anybody to blame for the dehumanization of Batman? Yes. Yes, there is somebody to blame.

Allow me to throw in an emphatic "FUCK YOU, FRANK MILLER" into this essay post, real quick. Is Batman: Year One an influential narrative masterpiece? Honestly, yes. And yes, it informs the modern version of the character. However, this and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (another great story for the most part, I'll admit) RUINED the character for generations to come. Batman was broken down into a gadget wearing edgelord, with Miller's dialogue and characterization exemplifying that image. Batman: Year One was great, to me, because it brilliantly contextualized Gotham for a new era, not because of "Yes, Father; I will become a bat." Great line, but real edgy.

And by the way, that's not even talking about Miller's rampant misogyny in those books, or the horrendous racist tendencies he would display later on in life. It's also not talking about his horrible artwork, his misunderstanding and horrid mishandling of any character that isn't Batman, or his DISASTROUS modern take on the character that revealed how he ACTUALLY saw Batman as a character. Miller's...not great, and even if these stories gave us some iconic lines and takes, they also caused a lot of harm down the line. After all, the issues with Snyder's Batman can be directly traced to Miller's take on the character.

So, then, with all of that said...how the hell am I supposed to start this one? Yeah, I'm still in the same boat as I was when I began this shit! See, it's all well and good to define my version of Batman, but that's not the only problem here. Because, after all, we've had 8 cinematic iterations of the character and the world he lives in, as well as 10 stories told about the character. And that's not accounting for the numerous animated series, radio plays, serial films, and the COMIC BOOKS. So, how do you tell a story that's interesting to newcomers (of which there can't be many at this point), and faithful to the character and his stories?

Well, I have some ideas on that, of course. But before anything else, let's flesh out the world that he lives in. Last time, I started the Superman essay series by talking about Lois Lane, the Kents, and other supporting characters. And I'll start similarly here, with four major supporting characters getting their own chapters, then going into the world of Gotham and its citizens, the vast gallery of rogues against Batman, and then finally getting into the story of this theoretical movie.

That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how well that holds up, huh?

Part One: Batman Part Two: Alfred and the Waynes Part Three: James Gordon and the GCPD (Coming Soon) Part Four: Gotham City (Coming Soon) Part Five: Joker (Coming Soon) Part Six: The Usual Suspects (Coming Soon) Part Seven: And the Rest (Coming Soon) Part Eight: The Story - Act One (Coming Soon) Part Nine: The Story - Acts Two and Three (Coming Soon) Part Ten: The Story - Climax and Ending (Coming Soon) Part Eleven: Epilogue (Coming Soon)

[caatws]

Thank you so much for being willing to say that Gunn's failure to develop some things in vol 3 was not on the audience lacking the skills to pick up nuances. I mean this from the bottom of my heart because it's been killing me to see valid criticisms of writing choices shot down with retorts that sound an awful lot like saying the audience is too stupid to understand this arty high brow film. It's not stupidity to point out that Groot, Drax, Mantis and Rocket never say one mournful statement about Gamora. Not one. It's not a skill problem to want to actually see Gamora's development with the ravagers. Since when has needing to see some backstory been put in the category of asking for too much. Understanding some of the subtly wasn't very helpful in the long run either. Not when moments that looked more open got shut down by the director.

Also there is no way you can watch vol 3 without seeing all the other movies the guardians are in. Not unless Gunn wants people to believe Gamora was a cashier most of them saw twice at the grocery store who never had anything to do with the guardians except date Peter and his family thinks he needs to get over it because her death or memory loss, who knows which it is, wasn't that serious. It's delusional to think everything wrong with this is simply people not paying enough attention.

literally all of this!!!! like trying to make any mcu film stand completely alone that is a direct sequel to a previous one is just an ill-fated mission from the start. we have literally been waiting for five (5) years to see how original gamora's storyline/arc would be wrapped up—aka, showing how the other characters react to it and adjust to the new normal it has put them in—and now we have our answer that it just....won't be. or rather, it was apparently so inconsequential to everyone else's stories in gotg besides peter's and new gamora's that we just hardly get to see anything lol. like god what

[pollenallergie]

A little note about how I write for Jason Carver in my sapphic!Chrissy Cunningham AU

I know Caleb said in an interview that Jason was actually a good guy who was just fed a bullshit narritive that he believed because of his own biases, and that he acted on because he was passionate about his girlfriend and mourning the loss of her… I get that… However, Jason, like most people in the midwest in the 80s, would have been incredibly homophobic and also kind of a dick, even if he did have a good heart underneath it all.

My dad was a jock in the late 80s-early 90s, and, even though he’s always been a great guy at heart, he was still an ass in high school because that’s how all of his friends behaved and that’s how society told him he should behave. I imagine Jason would probably behave in a similar manner. No, he’s not racist, that’s been made clear. My dad wasn’t racist either. That being said, Jason probably still had a lot of the same prejudices and biases that my dad had; homophobia, fatphobia, etc. So yeah… Jason might have a good heart, but in the case of sapphic!Chrissy, he’s gonna come across like a major ass because of those prejudices.

Mason’s great, truly he’s wonderful, and he deserves to be treated better by this fandom!! His character, however, will likely continue to be treated like shit in fics because, unfortunately, Jason was a jock in the rural midwest in the 80s, so he’s gonna have some major character flaws, to say the least. That being said, I will always try to humanize him and show his positive characteristics whenever possible because I know how shitty it can be to see characters misrepresented in fics and treated like absolute garbage. He was a good friend/mentor to Lucas before shit went south and he was, seemingly, a good boyfriend to Chrissy, so I’ll always try to keep that in mind. As for that som’bitch who dared to hurt the Erica Sinclair and who made those shitty little comments about a literal dead girl (I don’t care that he didn’t know it was Chrissy at first, that was still an incredibly shitty, vile thing to do), there will be no redeeming qualities/nuanced characterization for you, Andy the Prick.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Thank god is not just me who mourns the loss of flavor to Emmet's dialogue. I too love how short and choppy his sentences are, to the point, no words wasted, a fantastic contrast to how comparatively wordy Ingo is. Which makes sense, as they're mirrors of each other in many ways! iirc in Japanese Ingo is also very formal while Emmet is much more casual in the way he talks, which I think translated to English pretty well, although obviously some nuance is lost because we don't have different formal levels built in like Japanese does.

I think you captured that well in oop too, as Emmet lacks the level of politeness that Ingo has, and he's a lot more blunt. It's well matched to how you've written Emmet in the first arc too, with his near single-mindedness in finding Ingo, and how it puts characters like Rei and Cyllene at ease. I've always kind of thought that the blunt way he talked, his blatant honesty and confidence without any frills, was what got Cyllene to trust him. She's very similar in that regard, which I think is probably part of what made Rei trust him so fast in turn (well, that and he's a kid who is floundering and desperate to have an Adult take charge and give them direction, especially an adult who showed him kindness and care in the way he righted Rei's rails when he started to panic)

YEAAH YEAH okay i am also glad this is not just like... a me observation. like i don't play ex so i hadn't really looked at the quotes before now and... why did they do that to my man... it feels so wroooong

and re: what you were saying about translations, yeah, maybe the ex voice is the more accurate translation, i. would not really know, but like. rip to japanese players for missing out on emmet's incredible eng bw cadence if it's true. it's simply the far superior version... i'm sorry...

+ the thing abt him having an opposing voice to his brother!! like yeah, imho you REALLY lose that contrast in ex because english just does not have the same kind of obvious registers for formality. the bw dialogue is sooo much better in terms of making a really clear contrast btwn them... and also i know i said it before but the eng bw voice is just like. better? more interesting? it has more Character in it? im tryna sound objective and all here really what i mean is i love it and am obsessed with it.

ANYWAAAY waaah yeah!! like i said idc what they do with emmet in newer games they can pry his bw cadence out of my cold dead hands. and i'm REALLY REALLY GLAD it comes across in oop... i think i've said before that he's one of my fav characters to write bc he is just so unique in the way he talks and just sort of. his character generally. in such a perfect way. he's blunt and direct and incredibly purposeful and. with all of the careful hop-stepping and social maneuvering and mind games going around in pla it is SO fun to write a character who actively refuses to fuck around like that even a little bit. and yeah!! i think it can be both very disarming and very reassuring to people.

like cyllene you are exactly right!! they only spent a very brief time together but i REALLY love the idea of them interacting anyway. cyllene i think is someone who has a very specific way of reading and interpreting others, and to her it just came across so strongly how much emmet meant what he was saying, and how driven and simultaneously caring he was, and. like i said. both disarming and reassuring. i think she likes and trusts him an inadvisable amount already.

[whumptober]

Whumptober 2020 - Updated

Welcome to Whumptober 2020! We’re doing things a little differently this year so please make sure to read the Event Info carefully. We are also excited to announce the addition of an AO3 Collection, which can be found here.

We hope you’re as excited as us to watch the Whump Community come together once again for a month of bone-crunching creativity and collaboration!

(All 31 Themes + Prompts, Event Information, and FAQs are posted below the cut!)

No 1. LET'S HANG OUT SOMETIME Waking Up Restrained | Shackled | Hanging

No 2. IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY  "Pick Who Dies" | Collars | Kidnapped

No 3. MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY Manhandled | Forced to their Knees | Held at Gunpoint

No 4. RUNNING OUT OF TIME Caged | Buried Alive | Collapsed Building

No 5. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? On the Run | Failed Escape | Rescue

No 6. PLEASE.... "Get it Out" | No More | "Stop, please"

No 7. I'VE GOT YOU Support | Carrying | Enemy to Caretaker

No 8. WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO? "Don't Say Goodbye" | Abandoned | Isolation

No 9. FOR THE GREATER GOOD "Take Me Instead" | "Run!” | Ritual Sacrifice

No 10. THEY LOOK SO PRETTY WHEN THEY BLEED Blood Loss | Internal Bleeding | Trail of Blood

No 11. PSYCH 101 Defiance | Struggling | Crying

No 12. I THINK I'VE BROKEN SOMETHING Broken Down | Broken Bones | Broken Trust

No 13. BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT Delayed Drowning | Chemical Pneumonia | Oxygen Mask

No 14. IS SOMETHING BURNING? Branding | Heat Exhaustion | Fire

No 15. INTO THE UNKNOWN Possession | Magical Healing | Science Gone Wrong

No 16. A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY Forced to Beg | Hallucinations | Shoot the Hostage

No 17. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING Blackmail | Dirty Secret | Wrongfully Accused

No 18. PANIC! AT THE DISCO Panic Attacks | Phobias | Paranoia

No 19. BROKEN HEARTS Grief | Mourning Loved One | Survivor's Guilt

No 20. TOTO, I HAVE A FEELING WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE Lost | Field Medicine | Medieval

No 21. I DON'T FEEL SO WELL Chronic Pain | Hypothermia | Infection

No 22. DO THESE TACOS TASTE FUNNY TO YOU? Poisoned | Drugged | Withdrawal

No 23. WHAT’S A WHUMPEE GOTTA DO TO GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE? Exhaustion | Narcolepsy | Sleep Deprivation

No 24. YOU’RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE Forced Mutism | Blindfolded | Sensory Deprivation

No 25. I THINK I’LL JUST COLLAPSE RIGHT HERE, THANKS Disorientation | Blurred Vision | Ringing Ears

No 26. IF YOU THOUGHT THE HEAD TRAUMA WAS BAD... Migraine | Concussion | Blindness

No 27. OK, WHO HAD NATURAL DISASTERS ON THEIR 2020 BINGO CARD? Earthquake | Extreme Weather | Power Outage

No 28. SUCH WOW. MANY NORMAL. VERY OOPS. Accidents | Hunting Season | Mugged

No 29. I THINK I NEED A DOCTOR Intubation | Emergency Room | Reluctant Bedrest

No 30. NOW WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? Wound Reveal | Ignoring an Injury | Internal Organ Injury

No 31. TODAY’S SPECIAL: TORTURE Experiment | Whipped | Left for Dead

Alternate Prompt List

Alt 1. Punctured

Alt 2. Falling

Alt 3. Comfort

Alt 4. Stitches

Alt 5. Stoic Whumpees

Alt 6. Altered States

Alt 7. Found Family

Alt 8. Adverse Reactions

Alt 9. Memory Loss

Alt 10. Nightmares

Alt 11. Presumed Dead

Alt. 12. Water

Alt. 13 Accidents

Alt. 14 Shot

Alt. 15 Carry/Support

Event Info

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 Official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. They are meant to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don't have to include the exact wording into your work). Additionally, there are 3 prompts for each theme.  These are optional suggestions and can be used in conjunction with the theme, or as options/alternatives.  We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks.

Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, and photo/video/audio edits. Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag the with:

#whumptober2020 …..(the event tag)

#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(theme number)

#bruised, #stabbed,  …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)

#fandom or #OC

#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)

#teeth, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Keep in mind not to add “tw” in front but only use the word/trigger itself, because tumblr sucks)

#nsfw, #nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)

PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober2020​ blog. They must be tagged in the order above.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.

Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month.

Questions not addressed below can be directed to this blog as well.

Thanks for reading, and happy whumping!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What kind of content can I make? Can it be NSFW?

This is a MIXED MEDIA event! You can write fic, post meta, doodle or paint, create a gif set or photo edit, link a song, or get crafty with video - anything goes. As for NSFW, make what you like, we just hope that you’ll tag your work accordingly so that others participating in the event can stay safe :)

Q. Do I have to do all 31 Days? Can I post early/late?

Participate as much or little as you like, and post whenever! Just be sure to tag your posts properly (ex. #no.11, #psych101). Combining prompts into one piece of work is okay, and posting late is as well so as long as it’s in October.

Q. What if I don’t understand a theme?

Send us an ask! We’re happy to help clarify. That said, the themes are entirely up for interpretation :)

Q. Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges?

Absolutely! That’s like shooting two whumpees with one bullet :)

Q. Can I upload/repost my whumptober content to other social media platforms?

Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there. The archive can be accessed here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the boundaries of any closeted whumpers in your social circle :)

Q. Can I use prompts to write a new chapter for an existing fic?

Yes

Q. An existing fic I am currently writing contains many of the Whumptober prompts, can I use it?

If you are actively writing this fic at the moment with the whumptober prompts in mind, yes. If it just conveniently checks the boxes, then please don’t. You can, however, add new chapters answering one or more of the prompts.

Q. What kind of characters can I write for?

Fandom characters, OC characters, human, furry, alien, cyborg, whoever you like.

Q. Can I use a prompt multiple times?

Yes,  but it only counts once

Q. If I’m not comfortable with one day's prompts can I use a prompt of a different day as a substitute and still be a completionist?

Yes, but please do not use a specific prompt twice. We have also created an alternate prompts list that you can draw from [here].

Q. Where can I post my work?

Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive.

Q. Can I start posting early?

You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? That being said, you can post early, but we won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st.

Q. Do I have to finish a fic I started/can I post WIP’s.?

Yes you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish it in October for it to count towards being a completionist.  

Q. Is co-writing allowed?

Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you :)

Q. Do I have to create 31 standalone pieces to be considered a completionist or can I write one continuous story?

One continuous story is fine.  The challenge is to write something for 31 prompts. If that’s spread over 31 fics or just one, you are still considered a completionist. (The same goes for every other media you choose.)

Q. Is there a min/max limit on word count?

There is no limit

Q. Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?

No limit and combine as many as you’d like.

Q. Is a hc/angst focus ok?

Of course!

Q. What’s considered nsfw?

See this post

Q. What's whump?

See this post

Q. My interpretation of the prompt isn't whumpy at all, does that count?

No, sorry, but keep in mind that whump [see definition] is something very nuanced and different for everyone and emotional whump/angst is just as much part of it, as is physical whump and torture. So before you dismiss your idea, think about this.

Q. Can I start working on the prompts before October?

Absolutely! That’s why we posted the prompts a month in advance. We recognise how difficult it can be creating for 31 days in “real time”.

Q. How do I tag triggers?

tw at the end of the word, ex. emeto tw

Q. Do I have to use your tags?

Yes, if you want your work archived on the blog. If not, feel free to use whatever tags you want.  

Q. Does combining prompts count towards completion?

Yes

Q. Can we @ you?

Yes but we mostly rely on the whumptober2020 tag

Q. Is there anything we are absolutely not allowed to write?

There are no rules, just be sure to properly tag your trigger warnings. And keep in mind Tumblr’s policies if you are posting it here (or the policies of whatever site you use).

Q. Where can I go for brainstorming help?

Here on Discord

Q. My characters are minors, is that ok?

Yes, but as with everything else, tags are your best friend.

Q. Can I cross post on other blogs?

Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable. You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once.

Note: This is a creation challenge, please don’t repost your old work under our tags (unless it’s been changed or edited for the event).

[lacependragon]

So here's the thing. I'm working on the BF5 rewrite fic. But y'all gotta understand.

I fucking love Sage. She hits all my tropes and all my sweet spots and I think she is an incredibly strong, powerful, nuanced character and genuinely one of the best written ancient aliens out there (at least in cartoons).

I also absolutely adore writing how grief stricken, guilt ridden, and horrified she is by what she's become. How the warping and loss of her memories has left her with only a glimpse of what she's done, and that glimpse is dark, and coated in the gore of broken open red sentients and their spilled anti-matter. How she tries so hard to be better to fight.

She's dying, you know.

The mobi slows it, but it doesn't stop it. She's dying. They know she's dying. Every week the glowing gash in her chest gets a little brighter, a little bigger. She doesn't remember how she got it. (We can guess)

She doesn't know how she survived (she will).

She doesn't know why she survived (and she will, we know, and we will understand more than we were ever given).

She is grieving and mourning and broken and damaged and weak weak weak. She is not enough to save them. She is not enough to protect them.

(No matter how many times they say she is not broken, that weakness and illness are not brokenness, that health is not worth, she does not listen. sentients are supposed to be perfect. she is not perfect. why can't she be perfect.)

She was never supposed to care. They were supposed to be replaceable. But they include her. They teach her games. They tell her jokes.

They love her.

The tell her that they love her. And they show it. In every action. In every word.

And by all the stars in the multiverse, she cannot deny that she loves them too. She loves them so much it hurts. She would do anything for them. And that terrifies her. She's never loved something as much as her people before.

They are not her people. But they want to be. And they want her to be theirs.

When she is healed, when her mind and body are whole again and the pieces she lost to her brother are returned (they are not. the ones that come back are broken and gritty, and there are some she'll never get back. she'll never be a perfect sentient again. how can she protect them if she is not perfect?), she finds herself with synthetic tearducts that bleed a glowing light Spinner calls stardust. She is the only sentient she has ever known that can cry, and she now remembers many sentients.

She almost cannot stomach how appropriate it is, in the face of everything.

But before then, when she is still broken (you're not broken, sage, please, believe us. you're okay) and dying, when she is begging them to keep going without her, she has to learn to live with this feeling of love. They refuse to leave her. They refuse to let her die. They fight as much to protect Earth as they do to find a cure and save her. They don't want to do this without her.

And as the time she can spend outside her charging bubble shrinks, and the things she can do begin to slip away (she cannot float anymore. her feet refuse to leave the ground. she cannot call things to her. she must ask someone to get them.), she curls into herself and pleads to every power in the multiverse that they find a way to save her.

She doesn't want to die. She wants to live. To laugh. To help them win.

She doesn't want to die.

And when the chance is there, to get it all back, to save herself, to be with her friends, to be able to help, to feel worthy again -- can you blame her for taking it? Can you blame her for ignoring the warning signs?

She had weeks, if not days. She knew the price was high. She knew it would be a cost she might not be able to stomach.

She didn't know it would be Krytus, stars believe her, she didn't know it would be Krytus.

And she'll never forgive herself for that.

They should have just let her die.

[sokkastyles]

Azula: I’m sorry it has to end this way, brother.

Zuko: No, you’re not.

I’ve talked about these lines before and said that I find them to be some of the saddest. It’s about Zuko growing to learn that he is more than his family’s abuse, but it’s also sad in the way Zuko realizes that he’s mourning the loss of a relationship with his sister while she just isn’t.

Azula plays such an interesting narrative role because, as I’ve said many times before, she is largely our window for what Zuko’s relationship with his family is like, especially early on. We don’t get a whole lot of Ozai as a character, and don’t even see his face until book three. Most of what we know about Zuko’s relationship with Ozai is through Azula, and although I’ve seen a lot of focus on Zuko’s hostility towards Azula, she is, in a way, a vessel for Zuko’s more sympathetic feelings for his abuser and an exploration of how hard it is to come to terms with loving someone who abused you.

It’s actually an inverse-proportional relationship. Zuko directs more blame at Azula when he is in the most denial about Ozai, because he can’t safely feel anger towards his abuser and because he still believes he can gain Ozai’s love by being what Ozai wants him to be. Which is not to say that Zuko’s anger at Azula is misplaced, because it isn’t, but she’s the only one he can safely direct anger at at this point in his narrative. Once he starts to realize that he isn’t going to get the love he wants from Ozai, we also get more of an exploration of his relationship with Azula. Azula being more sympathetic to the viewer is a way for us to see and understand Zuko’s complicated relationship with his family.

The narrative never has Zuko really mourn the loss of a relationship with his father (although I imagine that he would and would probably struggle with that for a long time) because Ozai doesn’t have enough nuance as a character and is the big bad of the entire show, and it’s hard to give a character like that nuance when you’re already established them as an all-powerful evil elsewhere in the story.

So Azula takes that place in the narrative, in a way. We want to see Azula redeemed because we feel that she could be, if only things had been different. There’s never a moment where Zuko, after he realizes the truth of his abusive upbringing, tries to make his father understand or has any illusions about him being redeemed - in fact the narrative mocks the idea that Ozai will “become good again” by returning to a state of past innocence.

But Zuko did have those feelings about Azula.

She’s my sister, and I should learn to get along with her.

Zuko says this in the context of mollifying his statement about wanting to protect himself from Azula’s lightning, partly because he’s expecting to be told that he’s wrong and that he is at fault for his bad relationship with her, and partly because it’s natural for him to want to have a relationship with his sister. It’s extremely painful to have to separate those emotions, to realize that someone you love or want to love isn’t going to love you back in the same way.

It is not a coincidence that Zuko says this in the context of conflicting feelings about defending himself from Azula’s lightning, in the episode where he learns lightning redirection, and that his last confrontation with Azula has her mockingly telling him that she’s sorry that their relationship has to end this way, before shooting him with lightning and almost killing him, laughing while he is on the ground dying, and Zuko realizing that she isn’t sorry at all.

This is also what people miss when they say Iroh is the one who turned Zuko away from wanting a relationship with his sister. Zuko’s fears about what his sister would do to him if he didn’t learn how to defend himself from her turn out to be exactly true in the end, with or without Iroh’s influence, and Zuko still doesn’t redirect the lightning at her, even while he himself is dying.

I also think it says something about Azula’s relationship with her brother that even when she isn’t trying to directly hit Zuko, she still hurts him, and almost kills him. I don’t think there’s enough evidence in the text to say that Azula really didn’t want to hurt her brother, and enough evidence that she really did want to hurt him to counteract the former statement, but even if we say that she didn’t really want to hurt him, even if she was being honest about being sorry (which the voice acting makes clear she was not) there was never going to be a world where Azula proved once and for all that she was the superior sibling that didn’t end in Zuko getting hurt. She knows it, and Zuko knows it in that moment, which is why he neither makes excuses for her anymore nor takes joy in her downfall.

[darkdisrepair]

cr3e33 (THAT episode)

i hope so badly that the whole episode was a dream and there's some good evidence for it, too, which is so relieving. i love the theory that it is (i agree, that matt didn't seem nearly as upset as i would have thought for someone who may have killed 3+ members of the party)

even if it's not- there's a strange sort of poetic-ness to the fact that the two characters who died so far were exu characters, who in some ways have gotten more closure from their backstories than others.

yes, will is still dead. yes, orym just met the assassins who murdered him, and he feels like he failed keyleth and his people. but i'm sure there's a sort of sense of relief, too, that even though he may be dead, there are threads that can still find their way back to keyleth in the other members of his party.

and isn't it just a huge weight off your shoulders, to look the figures that haunt your memories in the eye, and say i know who you are now? even if nothing comes of that?

and fearne has met her parents. she knows the truth about morrie. yes, there are still so many things for her to know and do about ruidus and the fey realm, but that gaping hole has been at least a little repaired, and she's seen who her parents are.

though the fence might not be greener on the side where she knows birdie and ollie, she can now recognize the relationships she has in bell's hells and the chosen family she's found.

though i love both of them (fearne more than orym ngl), i think their stories, if they were to perma-die, have some sort of closure, even though it may be bittersweet and not the total closure they may have been hoping for.

laudna, imogen, ashton, and fcg are characters who fall into "the most tragic thing about sudden death is what went unfinished" trope. they all have so much to learn and so many unanswered questions about themselves that losing those threads forever would be so devastating because they haven't really been touched on yet.

and then there's chetney, who is... i don't even know. either way, i think he's been a great addition, but his woodworker standoffs have yet to make a whole lot of sense to have me mourn the loss of those plot points.

~

if this is a dream, though, imagine the trauma of imogen waking up from that? it would be so, so heartwrenchingly awful and lonely and i don't think anyone would really understand that she saw them die.

i mean, it's also horrible if this is real and they are actually dead. i think this is really her big moment of trauma in the campaign. to be backed into a corner and have your friends dying around you, because of you, and the only way to stop it is to go into a storm that you've been terrified of your whole life?

i'm so glad that there's an understanding between the cast and matt (and that they looked like they were having fun, even with all the character deaths) because, even though it's roleplay, what imogen was put through in this episode is so striking because it's so horrible, and awful because she had no choice and was forced into doing something that has already given her trauma.

but the story nuance of it all? the way it was done? beautiful. heartbreaking, and so, so good from matt. major kudos to him for building this moment so well.